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Mine only spent £383 on "Other expenses".
I bet his moat is in a right ####ing state.
I worked for an MP, before he was one. They aren't ALL thieving bastards.check his expenses
That all seems above board I guess - but £23k for mortgage interest and upkeep on his London flat for one year?
Do they all get 5 year mortgages and expect to build up a property portfolio if they get elected for several terms or what?
It seems to me that Thursday is Euro(waste of vote)MP voting day. What if we all got together and did not vote for ant of the major parties.
Perhaps we could all vote BNP or UKip and givem all a bloody scare.
mt - even Tebbit had to clarify that he didn't support voting Nazi.
an labour peer getting back at an overpaid bbc news presenter
wait a minute we pay her salary too!!
Hmm. I bet the BBC presenter doesn't fiddle their expenses though. BBC expenses are pretty tight - for meals they get a max of £6 for lunch, £14 for dinner, including drinks etc. with receipts submitted, even if you're eating out in Central London. Anything unreceipted is not paid.
Joe
[i]A couple of interesting points on all of this so far....
1 - The eerie silence from the LibDems on any of this. Are there going to be some skeletons coming out there as well?[/i]
Hardly interesting. It's the same reason as the tories kept quiet about moat cleaning and the price of horsehsit 🙂
2 - Balls - The odious Ed Balls and his equally odious wife have been, for many years, widely rumoured to be the biggest troughers of the lot.
It seems a strange rumour, you might be right, but looking Ed Balls expenses they seem pretty much in the middle of the ranking. Had he been claiming full second homes allowance then what you said might make sense, but at the moment it does sound a bit like a guido* based smear.
[url] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8044207.stm [/url]
* Who appears to be far more odious then any MP of any party.
porterclough - I will not apologise for my suggestion though I will own and agree that it's a bit drastic. We need some how to show the bu&&ers that our vote is not their right. The scariest folks I can think of are the BNP and the most usless vote I can think of are the Euro elections. Could tone it down to just UKip but not sure it would be strong enough.
As the great sage Billy Connolly once said - "Wanting to become and MP should immediately bar you from becoming one."
Should be done like a jury - 450 regular peeps do a 24 month Parliamentary Duty, Govt pays for a temp to fill in for you, after which you go back to your normal life, you earn your normal salary paid by employer so keeping your PAYE & NI up to date.
Right now that's sorted, onto climate change...
Well i can see the need for living in london and living in your constituency (if its far enough away from london) I can see the need for travel between the 2 or for official functions. But the clothes the food and all the other stuff i really dont see the need for. Infact im pretty sure there is an empty army barracks in london that would be suitable for turning into mps apartments. If your only there 4 nights a week so im sure it doesnt need to be the lap of luxury. Okay so that London accommodation handled, now you can pay for your house in your constituency out of your wages (After all that is where you live right?). Now transport well we have a perfectly good public transport system dont we? So free train bus and underground travel for all MPs want to use a car fine do it out of your wages unless its for official engagements.
Stephen Fry has confirmed the whole thing (MP's expenses) is not important!
I'm glad we cleared that up. Lets move on... Nothing to see here!
My MP is an odious slime faced ball of ****t. He has been convicted of breaking a cyclists neck whilst driving his 4x4 in Westminster (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7868435.stm )
He also has a face I want to punch every time I see it.
He is the MP for Chelmsford (about 35 miles from Westminster). He claimed £18,908 last year for a 2nd home. £3,180 gets him a season ticket on the train, he don't live that far away.
I want to punch his face a bit more now
Showing my ignorance now but.....
What do MP's actually do? as far as I can see it's knocking on my door every now and again, asking if there's anything I want to ask him/her, getting annoyed if I do ask, appearing in the local paper some days later drinking Champagne, doing an invisible man impersonation whilst leaving his/hers minions to say there's nothing they can do it all comes under central government.
Is that what MP'ing is?
rogerthecat - as you may have read in my earlier post we seem to be on the same wave length. Can we now start some sort of pressure group change the system?
wow cheeseyfeet your mp really is a scumbag among scumbags
It seems to me that Thursday is Euro(waste of vote)MP voting day. What if we all got together and did not vote for ant of the major parties.
Perhaps we could all vote BNP or UKip and givem all a bloody scare.
Because A: Tebbit would like that as even his beloved tory party is not as anti-Eu as he is,
B: The damage that can be done by allowing those sort of parties in, just because you want a protest vote. These sort of votes demonstrate that while democracy is vital and you can vote for whoever, there should be some responsibility shown by the voter as to what issues they have in mind and if they are relevant to whats been voted on.
It shows that the uk voter doesn't take the implications of who they vote for at local election or EU election level seriously at all.(waste of vote 😉 )
What I would say is if you want a protest vote wait for the general election, not a great deal of choice as it will be red tory or blue tory who'll win.
El-bent
B: The damage that can be done by allowing those sort of parties in, just because you want a protest vote. These sort of votes demonstrate that while democracy is vital and you can vote for whoever, there should be some responsibility shown by the voter as to what issues they have in mind and if they are relevant to whats been voted on.
Interesting that we as voters should show some responsibility while our representives show no restraint, morality or responsibility. Totally agree that "those sort of parties" are not good but I say again. The Euro elections elects MEP's who are pretty much powerless so lets not wait for the general election, lets send the message now. Lets givem the kick they need. You could vote Green as a protest but I can't see the fear factor there.
By the way I always thought that Mr Tebbit was an advocate of cycling so don't be to harsh.
[i]Mr Tebbit was an advocate of cycling so don't be to harsh.[/i]
george bush was a keen mountainbiker but still a ****
Mr Tebbit was an advocate of cycling so don't be to harsh.
I think it was his dad who was keen on cycling 😀
an labour peer getting back at an overpaid bbc news presenter
wait a minute we pay her salary too!!
No, 'we' don't. Her salary will be paid out of the licence fee. Which is entirely voluntary, based on whether you wish to have a TV or not. I don't, so I don't contribute towards this woman's salary.
£92k, though. Blimey. Still, not as much as Wossy gets..
george bush was a keen mountainbiker but still a ****
It's a good point, and well made.
uplink - oh aye, it were his dad. So don't be to harsh on him, his dad was a cyclist. Yes I know this falls down when you apply it to george Bush.
In the light of all these MP's grabbing our money it seems to me that they are no different from some of the bankers who have used their position to gain money. Ok the scale on an individual base may be higher but it's the same motivation. I question how many of us would have done the right thing.
Anyway, if all these MP's have got their snouts in the trough, why don't they have Swine Flue! Ok I'll bu&&er off home.
[url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8044998.stm ]bbc[/url]
its ok 'outraged' camerons gonna get his team of toffs to pay it all back, including the 600 quid he spent on getting some plants pulle doff his chimney
wtf do they find these 'workmen' that charge 600 quid for climbing up a ladder
Stephen Fry has confirmed the whole thing (MP's expenses) is not important!
He seriously disappointed me this morning with a display of bourgeouis (oh the irony of him taking the mick out of the bourgeouis) flippancy towards the snoutery that has been exposed. Gone down in my expectations, but I expect I'll forgive him once QI comes back on.
1 - The eerie silence from the LibDems on any of this. Are there going to be some skeletons coming out there as well?
I couldn't believe it had taken you till page 2 to try to deflect the attention from the tory scum revelations today. I suspect there will be a few of them taking the piss but I'll have a fiver with you that they won't come near the levels we've seen today. You made hay over the allegations of the last few weeks despite being warned that the tory expense claims would make labour's seem amateurish. And now, you seek to deflect?
....Rumour has it they have taken out an injunction to prevent publication.... suspect that the Balls household(s) may well be the final cherry on top of this story.
I'm in now way defending the Balls' but you ought to stick to your tory weblogs or wherever you're reading your allegations. Added to that, yet another attempt to deflect attention from today's revelations. I shouldn't be surprised...your likes' contempt for the working classes of society (or "proles" as you once referred to them..,in one of your less than tasteful references to the people who live around the breadline on council estates) make labour look like amateurs just learning the ropes.
That **** Hogg...I'm sickened that I paid to dredge that scum's moat when I remember his contributory role in the death of Pat Finucane.
Interesting that we as voters should show some responsibility while our representives show no restraint, morality or responsibility.
Well, as mentioned before MP's are a reflection on the society they represent. Monkey see, Monkey do.
MEP's who are pretty much powerless so lets not wait for the general election, lets send the message now. Lets givem the kick they need.
By sending a load of parties into the Eu parliament which in turn has and will damage our interests. Great.
[url=
]"Like a job, in other words?"[/url]
😈
[url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8047410.stm ]OK, hands up - Who among us could put their hands on £40k, just like that?[/url]
Been squirreling away the expenses, Phil?
As mentioned on my earlier thread, this whole thing stinks on all sides. I do, however, wonder what is to come about the Balls household...!
The reality of this whole situation is that our democracy is actually under threat through it. There are a number of major issues, but top of the list is news manipulation for political reasons by the Telegraph. For example read headline that says “Brown pays brother £6000 for cleaner ” and rewrite it more honestly to “Brown pays £53 a week for flat cleaning in Central London by sharing resources with his brother” and you’ll get my point. Exactly the same infromation just presented differently.
No excuses for wrong behaviour, but lets be honest about it and deal with it above board and truthfully, otherwise its just repeating the corruption.
So unsupportable and clearly fiddled expenses, perhaps like Camerons assistant, call in the Old Bill and nail the bugger. You know the one? Husband and Wife MP’s both claiming seperately for the same second home?
As mentioned on my earlier thread, this whole thing stinks on all sides.
What, you're so focused on what Labour's been up to that you've only just "vaguely" acknowledged that the Tories are at it as well?
Well done you.
noteeth,
That clip is priceless, really priceless. In addition to that classic comment, how about "...I have to be there, not like a Liberal Democrat..."
Snout... Trough... Well and truly up to his ****ing neck in it.
Stephen Fry thinks it's OK for them to fiddle their expenses and says that we all do it but I'd struggle as I need receipts for everything and can only claim for things like hotels,food and travel. Are people, other than MPs able to fiddle expenses beyond a few quid?
My company checks everything and you need a receipt. They were running round not knowing what to do last year after I bought an oyster card on a stay in London instead of getting daily travel cards. I saved the company a few quid as it's cheaper on the tube with an oyster card but they didn't know what to do without receipts...
I had the same problem with the Oyster card so just claimed bike mileage - often did ride but not always. BTW, it worked out financially slightly worse for me doing that!
I was thinking the same as the good Capt. This MP has agreed to pay back over £40K! I thought they were all skint? Surely expenses are just that, reimbursements for money spent. So where's he got £40K from? Hazel Blears also seems to have a spare £13K sloshing round the current account. As as for the guy claiming £800 a month for a mortgage that had been paid off, well I'm sorry but if £800 extra suddenly started turning up on my monthly statement I'd notice it pretty bloody quickly. If £80 extra started turning up that'd be nice!
Anyone remember the government sponsored "Shop a Scrounger" campaign? Seems the Daily Telegraph took them at their word.
It is fraud plain and simple. Are HMRC as understanding with the general population? No are they buggery. And that's another thing. All this talk of independant regulatory bodies. We've got one. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER!!! Let HMRC review their expenses like the rest of us.
I really would like to see some fines, sackings and removal of pension rights in the light of this. No actually I would like to see some lynchings but unfortunately that's not going to happen.
What really boils my piss is the constant drivel from our leaders about the need to prudence in these difficult times. About the need to increase taxes to pay for x, y and z. About the need for efficiency drives. What they really mean is they need to raise more money as John Lewis are getting the latest wide screen from Sony in next week and it is this seasons must-have gadget.
Bastards the bloody lot of them.
I think MPs have had an unofficial "who can make up the most ridiculous claim" contest.
We'll have all forgotten about come June, then it'll back to voting for the parties that support our own views/prejudice and sod what has been done.
I seethat an offical complaint to the rozzer has now been made regarding Elliot Morley. And a tory couple have resigned, how do I make a complaint?
Elliot Morley. The man who put the c*** in S****horpe.
Oh, so he's not all bad then? 😉
Hmm this is a bit like fred the banker isnt it? Someone in authority agreed a load of rules and they took what they could. If your work started offering expenses for flat cleaning or second homes I'm sure you'd all take them up on it. Now tho we are getting a look at what actually goes on and has been OKed by those in power and we are quite rightfully incensed by it. Yes there are some right thieving scum at it, claiming for a mortgage already paid for, claiming a second home they dont need. But we are still pretty pissed off by the people who put in standard claims that were 'within the rules' (sorry) We need to be directing our anger at the ****wits who made the rules not the people who fully exploited them (I mean those who claimed for and got everything they possibly could not the fraudulent claims) After all I should think there's plenty of people here (or atleast a few) who take the piss with expenses or other work privelages but if they are within the rules then blame the company policy makers not the workers.
The issue is that they are one and the same - they made the rules they are exploiting.
The issue is that they are one and the same - they made the rules they are exploiting.
Yes I was worried that would be the answer, but which MPs made the rules? All of them? A select few from years ago? Surely someone signed their name to this ludicrous scheme....hehe oops sorry I was forgetting, these are UK politicians, it's never their fault.
Thing for me about the Rules is they include these lines:
[i]Claims should be above reproach and must reflect actual usage of the resources being claimed.
Claims must only be made for expenditure that it was necessary for a Member to incur to ensure that he or she could properly perform his or her parliamentary duties.
Members must ensure that claims do not give rise to, or give the appearance of giving rise to, an improper personal financial benefit to themselves or anyone else.
The requirement of ensuring value for money is central in claiming for accommodation, goods or services – Members should avoid purchases which could be seen as extravagant
or luxurious.[/i]
I don't think a lot of the expense claims being exposed satisfied these inclusions which to me demonstrates the contempt these arrogant MPs have for the general public
[i]I do, however, wonder what is to come about the Balls household...! [/i]
Nothing particulartly exciting.
[url] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5325590/Ed-Balls-and-Yvette-Cooper-flipped-homes-three-times-MPs-expenses.html [/url]
And unsurprisingly the injunction rubbish turned out to be well, rubbish. Mind you what do you expect if you use the gutter press as your news-source?
Nukeproof, ah yes good point. In that case why the hell did someone not refuse re-imbursements for these dubious claims? Oh yes we're back to the self governing thing aren't we? OK they [b]are[/b] all interminable wsnkers.
This house flipping business seems to be within the rules but hard to defend really.